Automatic fire window structure



March 24, 1959 H. c. KNEBEL AUTOMATIC FIRE wmnow STRUCTURE Filed July 20, 1955 R S .B Y R E m m M m W0 A N A M R E H n h fl 3% M United States Pater AUTOMATIC FIRE WINDOW STRUCTURE Herman C. Knebel, Westbury, N.Y., assignor to S. H.

Pomeroy Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application July 20, 1955, Serial No. 523,200

9 Claims. (Cl. 189-74) This invention relates generally to window closures for building structures, and more particularly, to a window closure wherein means are provided for automatically closing the window in the event of fire. By thus closing the windows, undesirable drafts through the windows which may cause the fire to spread are eliminated. This invention represents an improvement of the subject matter of my Patent No. 2,827,140, granted March 18, 1958.

In the window construction of the present invention, the lower sash of the window is connected to a stationary mounting through a mechanical connection which includes a spring balance for the lower sash and a fusible coupling connected in series. The fusible coupling, when subjected to heat, disconnects the sash and the stationary mounting, permitting the sash to drop to closed position.

In the specific window construction described herein, the spring balance for the lower sash of the window is supported from above. by a flexible connection, such as a cable or metal tape, which loops around a guide accommodated in the. head and then extends downwardly, being anchored to the sill. The flexible connection is anchored to the sill by means of a fusible link which, when exposed to extreme heat, loses its rigidity and releases, the spring balance for the lower sash, permitting the lower sash to fall to closed: position by gravity. Furthermore, the severed end of the flexible connection is carried upwardly by the fall of the lower sash, and in moving upwardl it engages the upper sash, raising it to closed position.

For a complete understanding of the present invention, reference may be made to the detailed description which follows and to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a plan view in cross-section of one of the window jambs of a window construction embodying the present invention; it is a, view taken substantially along the line 1-1 of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the E I L Figure 2 is a cross-section elevation view taken along the line 22 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a view similar'to Figure 2, butillustrating the manner in which the. windows are closed when the fusible link is. severed;

Figure, 4 is a view taken along the line. 4-4 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 isa view taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 6 represents an alternative construction for closing the upper sash.

Referring to the drawings, upper and lower sashes 10, 11 respectively, are mounted for upward and downward movement within an opening in a structure F. The upper sash is guided in its upward and downward movement by vertical jambs 12 (only one of which is shown in the drawings), and the lower sash 11 is guided in its upward and downward movement by vertical jambs 13. The vertical jambs 12, 13 extend between the horizontal sill 14 and the header 15.

In order to counterbalance the weight of the upper sash 10 and to facilitate the opening and closing thereof, a spring balance 16 is connected at its upper end 17 to the header 15, and at its lower end to the sash 10 by means of the fitting 36 at the base of the sash. The spring 16 counterbalances' the weight of the sash so that the sash can be closed or moved to the desired position between the sill 14 and the header 15. Similarly, the weight of the lower sash 11 is counterbalanced by a spring 19. The lower end of the spring 19 is connected to the sash 11, and the upper end is connected by means of a screw or rivet 20 to a flexible steel tape 21. The flexible steel tape 21 extends upwardly, looping around a channel guide 22 mounted in the header 15 of the window, and then downwardly, the extreme end thereof being connected by means of a screw or rivet 23 to a slide 24 accommodated within'the jamb 12. The slide 24, in turn, is attached by means of a bracket 25 to the sill 14. By this connection, the flexible steel tape 21 is anchored at one end to the sill so that its opposite end can support the upper end of the balance 19.

As best shown in Figure 5, the screw or rivet 20 which connects the tape 21 and the spring balance 19 also carries stop plate 26 having shoulders 27 formed thereon. The upper narrower end of the plate 26 extends through a slot 28 in the header 15. However, the shoulders 27 extend sufliciently beyond the ends of the slot engaging the underside of the header, thereby'positioning the spring balance 19. With the upper end of the balance 19 thus firmly supported from the end of the steel tape 21, the sash 11 may be raised or lowered as desired between the jambs 13.

Provision is made in the present invention for releasing the slide 24 from the sill 14 in the event of fire. Accordingly, the bracket 25 is connected by means of a fusible head 30 to a plate 31, which plate, in turn, is connected to the slide 24 by the screw 32. It is evident, therefore, that the lower sash is connected to a stationary mounting, in this case the sill 14, through a mechanical connection which includes the counterbalancing spring 19, the flexible steel tape 21, and the fusible coupling.

If the sashes 10 and 11 are open and a fire occurs, the heat produced by the fire will melt the fusible bead 30, and, consequently, the slide 24 and the end of the steel tape 21 will be disconnected from the sill 14. When this occurs, the weight of the lower sash 11 will cause it to drop by gravity to the closed position in contact with the sill 14 (as shown in Figure 3). Also, the movement of the lower sash to closed position will cause the flexible tape 21 to be drawn through and around the channel guide 22 in the head of the window, thereby raising the slide 24 within the jamb 12. The slide 24 carries an arm 34, and as the slide is pulled upwardly within the jamb 12, the arm 34 will come into contact with the balance fitting 36 by means of which the upper sash 10 is connected to the lower end of the spring balance 16. The further upward movement of the slide 24 will cause the upper sash to be raised to closed position. The contraction of the spring balance 19 will be adequate to overcome the weight of the upper sash. 10, as well as any slight amount of friction which it encounters in moving upwardly, to insure that the upper sash is closed.

An alternative arrangement of'th'epresent invention is shown in Figure 6 wherein the spring balance 19 for the lower sash is supported by means of a cable 38 in lieu of the flat steel tape 21 described above. The opposite end of the cable 38 passes through the eye of a guide 39 which is connected by means of the screw 40 to the fitting 36 of the upper sash.

Beneath the eye of the guide 39, the cable 38 is looped through a hole in the plate 31a, and the extreme end of the cable is doubled back and connected to the downwardly extending portion thereof by means of a clamp 41.

In this arrangement when the fusible bead 30 loses its rigidity when exposed toftheat, the plate 31a will be disconnected from the bracket 25, permitting the lower sash 11 to fall to closed position. The fall of the lower sash and the contraction of the spring balance 19 draws the cable 38 around the guide 22 until the clamp 41 engages the eye of the guide 39. Being unable to pass through the eye, the clamp will raise the upper sash to closed position, in the manner of the embodiment previously described.

It is evident, therefore, that the present invention provides an effective and simplified window construction which makes possible the closing of the upper and lower sash in the event of fire. In addition, the simplified construction of the present invention eliminates all unnecessary auxiliary springs and complicated mechanism ordinarily associated with window constructions which automatically close in the event of fire.

The invention has been shown in preferred forms only and by way of example, and obviously many modifications and variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention, therefore, is not to be limited to any specified form or embodiment, except insofar as such limitations are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A self closing window construction comprising upper and lower sashes, a header, a sill, a spring balance for the upper sash, a spring balance for the lower sash, a flexible linkage connected at one end to the spring balance for the lower sash for the support of said spring balance, a curved guide for the linkage mounted in the header, said linkage looping around the curved guide and extending downwardly toward the sill, means connecting the opposite end of the linkage to the sill, a fusible link connecting the flexible linkage to the sill and which, when subjected to heat, loses its rigidity and disconnects the flexible linkage from the sill, whereby the lower sash is permitted to fall to closed position, the flexible linkage being drawn around said curved guide in the head during the fall of the lower sash to closed position, and means carried by the flexible linkage engaging the upper sash and raising it to closed position.

2. A self closing window construction as set forth in claim 1, including a window jamb, and wherein the means carried by the flexible linkage engaging the upper sash and raising it to closed position is a slide guided within the window jamb.

3. A self closing window construction as set forth in claim 1, including a guide connected to the upper sash, said guide having an eyelet therein through which the flexible linkage extends, the means carried by the flexible linkage to close the upper sash engaging said guide when the link is disconnected from the sill.

4. A self-closing window construction comprising a header, an upper sash, a lower sash counterbalancing means connected to the upper sash, sash-closing means normally disposed substantially below the upper sash so as not to interfere with the normal use of the upper sash, means connecting the lower sash with the sash-closing means, whereby the lower sash exerts a force on the sashclosing means to urge the sash-closing means upwardly into engagement with the upper sash so as to raise the upper sash to closed position, guide means accommodated in the header for engaging the connecting means between the lower sash and the sash-closing means, stationary mounting means disposed substantially beneath the upper sash in closed position, and a: fusible connection between said sash-closing means and the stationary mounting means which, when subjected to heat, releases said sashclosing means, permitting it to engage and move the upper sash to closed position.

5. A self-closing window construction comprising a lower sash, a header, a spring balance connected to the lower sash, guide means mounted in the header, a flexible connection passing around said guide means and connected to said spring balance and to a fusible coupling, a stationary mounting means mounted on a sill member, and to which the fusible coupling is connected, said spring balance, flexible connection and fusible coupling being connected in series between the lower sash and the stationary mounting means, whereby the fusible coupling, when subjected to heat, separates from the stationary mounting means and permits the lower sash to fall to closed position, said flexible connection being drawn around the said guide means as the lower sash falls to closed position.

6. A self-closing window construction as set forth in claim 5 including an upper sash and means carried by the flexible connection and engageable with said upper sash to raise the upper sash to closed position in the event of separation of the fusible coupling.

7. A self-closing window construction comprising a lower sash, a spring balance connected to the lower sash, said spring balance comprising the sole balancing means, and a fusible coupling connected in series with the spring balance between the lower sash and a stationary mounting means, the fusible coupling being connected to the stationary mounting means, whereby the fusible coupling, when subjected to heat, is disconnected from the stationary mounting means, permitting the sash to drop to closed position.

8. A self-closing Window construction comprising a stationary frame, a lower sash guided for movement within said stationary frame, a series connection between the lower sash and the frame, and guide means within said frame around which the series connection in guided to reverse the direction of the series connection, said series connection comprising a flexible member, an extensible spring which serves as a spring balance for the lower sash to permit it to be adjusted as to height relative to the frame, and a fusible coupling which, when subjected to heat, melts, permitting the sash to drop to closed position.

9. A self-closing window construction as set forth in claim 8 including an upper sash and means forming part of said series connection for engaging the upper sash and raising it to closed position after the melting of the fusible coupling, the fusible coupling being interposed in the series connection between said means for engaging and raising the upper sash and the frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 2,878,906 March 24, 1959 Herman C Knebel It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4, line 42 for "connection in" read connection is Signed and sealed this 30th day of June 1959.

(SEAL) Attest:

KARL WINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Oificer Commissioner of Patents 

